The 16-member 2026 Metro Conference Hall of Fame class is loaded.

The 10 athletes include former NFL players Donnie Edwards and Zeke Moreno, CFL player Jerome Haywood, Major League Baseball players Jose Silva and Oscar Robles and Rhodes Scholar candidate Steve Copp.

A Hall of Fame ceremony is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday in the multi-purpose room at Olympian High School.

Edwards, who played at Chula Vista High School, was an All-American at UCLA. He spent 13 seasons in the NFL with the Kansas City Chiefs and San Diego Chargers.

Moreno was a two-time San Diego Section Defensive Player of the Year at Castle Park who played at USC, with the NFL’s San Diego Chargers and Philadelphia Eagles and in the CFL.

Haywood, who played at Castle Park High School and San Diego State, spent eight years in the CFL.

Robles, an infielder from Montgomery High School, played in the major leagues with the Dodgers and Padres.

Silva, a pitcher who played at Hilltop, played seven big-league seasons with Toronto, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. He also represented Mexico in the World Baseball Classic and the Olympic Games.

Copp was a standout basketball player at Hilltop who starred at San Diego State. He was a Rhodes Scholar candidate, was drafted by the New Orleans Jazz, and is currently one of the preeminent orthopedic surgeons in the country.

In addition, the Metro Conference will honor athletes Vianney Campos (Eastlake), Ronnie Cortell (Sweetwater), Jenna Daniels  (Bonita Vista) and Karen Taeatafa-De la Rosa (Sweetwater), coaches Tim Latham (Sweetwater), Merlyn “Chip” Holmes (Bonita Vista, Southwest-San Diego, Hilltop, Eastlake), Dave Lay (Sweetwater) and Gary Zarecky (Sweetwater).

George Milke (Marian Catholic/Mater Dei Catholic) and Mike Stein (Sweetwater District) will receive a Distinguished Service award.

Milke was the Most Outstanding Player of the 1974 College World Series, helping USC to back-to-back national titles.

Bolton steps down

Anthony Bolton, the boys basketball coach at Vista High School for the last 10 seasons, has stepped down.

Bolton started coaching at the school in the 2016-17 season, going 28-5. The Panthers went 23-9 and 21-10 the next two seasons, but were 10-18 and 5-22 the last two seasons.

Bolton, a Vista grad, finished with a 140-145 record. He will stay on at the school as an assistant girls golf coach.

New contract

The  CIF and Playon Sports announced a 10-year agreement, naming the NFHS Network as the exclusive content distributor for CIF regional and state championship events.

As part of the agreement, the NFHS Network will continue to broadcast the state football and basketball championships while adding the girls volleyball state championships.

Football field grant

Mountain Empire High School in Pine Valley has been awarded a $5,000 grant through T-Mobile’s Friday Night 5G Lights program, which supports high school football programs in smaller communities across the country.

The school is now in the running for the program’s grand prize, a $1 million football field transformation.

Inola High in Oklahoma, with a city population of 1,900, was the first winner two years ago. Dierks High in Arkansas, with a city population of 900, won it last year.

Pine Valley has a population of 1,645. Mountain Empire has an enrollment of around 400.

About 1,500 schools have received monetary rewards. The winners will be determined by public vote at fridaynight5glights.com. Voting runs from Oct. 8 to Oct. 25.

Carlsbad set to travel

Carlsbad High School’s girls basketball team will play in the Amsterdam Holiday Showcase in New York in late December.

The event starts on a Sunday, so the Lancers will play Colonie of Albany on Dec. 28 and Massachusetts’ Foxboro on Dec. 29.